His father’s ‘paid’ maintenance problems earn him weekend prison sentences, jokes about SA levels

• A man who refused to pay regular full alimony was found to be in contempt of a preliminary injunction
• The state sentenced the father of three to a penalty of 30 days in jail during the weekends
• SA’s vocal online community offered a view on the legal sanction following a crackdown in the Western Cape

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s approach to maintenance cases has been given a facelift, with convenient punishments by societal standards.

A recent example of the court’s approach to this mundane problem came after an allegedly wealthy businessman returned to an abandoned layabout.

Dad earns himself weekends in jail

After the legal proceedings between the man and the complainant, his estranged wife, a housewife, were resolved, the Western Cape High Court found him in contempt of an interim maintenance order.

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So the state sentenced him to 30 days in jail and ordered it to be served on weekends. He was scheduled to report for detention on Friday at 5 p.m. and be released at 6 a.m. on Monday.

In one SowetanLIVE In the column, lawyer Tina Hokwana noted that the prison sentence was suspended if the man complied with a court order to meet several financial obligations he had defaulted on.

Aside from child support, these include outstanding rent payments and other education and health care payments due within 60 days. The court ordered him to comply with the order until the case was resolved.

The couple, who have three children, split in April 2022 after nine years together before the man left the marital home.

In a later interim maintenance order on March 1, 2024, the court ordered him to pay R60,000 monthly to his ex-wife to support the children.

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However, he paid only R22,500 per month, R37,500 less than required, for school fees and medical assistance. He refused to pay other educational and medical expenses and rent.

Hokwana wrote that he argued in court that his financial circumstances changed in February, meaning he could no longer comply with the order.

Court considers appropriate sanction

The court did not accept his rebuttal after he failed to take the court into confidence and file a petition.

The court accepted his plea for periodic prison sentences – after reasoning that he needed to save his business and maintain contact with the children – and the judge opted to switch to another appropriate sentence.

He was eventually found in contempt of the maintenance order and sentenced to a periodic prison term of 30 days on weekends.

However, the payment was suspended on the condition that the ex-husband complies with the payment order within 60 days and does not default until the case is concluded.

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The unique lawsuit and its outcome generated powerful sentiments from an invested online community.

Many observers on social media found the case compelling and applauded the legal system’s handling of alimony cases in their own hilarious way.

Short news looks at the colorful reactions.

@mehlulisizwe joked:

“Imagine joining a gang of 26 part-time on the weekend.”

@shirleyheavens wrote:

“He will have to go to jail on the weekends to save that porridge.”

@Nokwazi_Zee laughed:

‘Sorry to laugh, but this is funny. That judge cooked.’

@Choc_Strauws said:

“The judge said, ‘No problem, let’s be proactive.'”

@Charmzo_man questioned:

“Can we do the same with women who lie about who the fathers of their babies are?”

@ziyandas said:

“I would apply for 30 consecutive days and be done with it.”

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In related news: Short news reported that a woman who divorced her husband demanded R100,000 in maintenance for their three children.

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The woman has applied to the Durban High Court to obtain interim maintenance for her and their children.

Source: Kort Nieuws